Motor-vehicle.



P. W. WHITE.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-23, l9l2.

Patented May 23,1916.

J; I l lilHLJ a? Z I v I .l' #4 f f6 I P. W. WHITE.

MOTOR VEHICLE. APPLICATION mm NOV-2E1I 1912.

1,183,938. Patented May 23,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

P. W. WH|TE.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

APPLLCATION FILED Nov. 23. 1912.

Patented May 23, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- \X/ITHEEEES:

i To all whom it may concern PERCIVAL or an;rnswrox, MAINE.

Moron-VEHICLE Specification of Letters Patent.

Application'filefl November 23, 1912. Serial No. 733,073. 7

Be it known that I, PERGIVAL W. WHi'rn, of Brunswick, in the county of Cumberland and State ofMaine, a citizen of the United out therigidity, vibration,.faulty fork construction; and tendencies to skid, and general discomfort and danger of that means of locomotion. On the other hand, there is incorporated in my 1, machine the comfort,

springiness, large wheels, long wheel-base, and closed-in effect of the automobile, without the automobiles intricate spring system, differential gear, mud guards, andother appurtenances which stand in the'way of its being developed into a vehicle presenting the'least possible resistance to the air. In

I fact, the action of my machine with respect to the 'air is precisely the same as that of a monoplane, being, for purposes of illustration, merely a monoplane Without wings.

Thus,'the under surface of its body acts as.

an aeroplane or lifting surface,- which tends to lift the machine somewhat. into the air, taking the weight off the wheels and reducing road shocks.

For military purposes the inclosed structure of the vehicle permits its being armored with steel at every point except where thewheels touch the ground, a thing not "pos-- sible with any other form of vehicle except I at the expense of great weight and clumsine'ss.

from its having an unusually low center of gravity, due to the underslung construction, making it. easy riding, easier to control-,and safer at high speeds. r

In the drawings I have shown an embodiment of my machine in the best form now known to me.

Figure 1 is a side view of the machine, the

housing being in section. Fig.- 2 is a plan of the interior of the machine, the housing and steering arm being in section. Fig. 3

is an enlarged vertical section of the front Other advantages of mymachine arise taken'on line 4'4 of Fig.2,

ii is the sillor main frameof-. the.niachine carrying the flooring and preferably shaped as shown, 6. e.,-rounded atthe front PatentedMay 23.111916,-

- of the machine, showing the steering rnecha- 4 nismin elevation. Fig. 4 is a cross'section as shown at a andtapering atltherearias' I A is the flooring which extends from a" point'in rear of the front wheel to a=point in front of-the rear wheel, the front edge being shaped to allow the front or guiding wheel to be-turned freely in steering as occasion' may require.

Mounted on the S111 A is a housing B preferably made ofv sheetmetal and shaped I at its lower edge to fasten to thejsill and forming an inclosure for the mechanism, offering by its shape the least resistance ,to t e air.

for the passengers as well-as an 'opening through which the driver may'loo'k forward, which opening may be closed, by" a glass windshield B This housing incloses the D The rear portion is somewhat higher than the front to providehead-room wheels, engine; and passengers, partly for protection and partly to secure the stream line form of the vehicle. The housing has an opening B? at each side which may be closed by curtains'or doors, and Withinis a seat 13 for shown) may be located in front of r the the driver. The engine (not driver and other seats maybe provided in v 1" part of my invention. a

therear if desired. These details forni no:

An important feature of -my invention is? the .way by vrhichthe'sill and those parts; which it carries are suspended from. the

D is The wheel D is axles, and also the means for steering-by the front wheel. C is the front wheel. the rear wheel or trailer.

mounted on an axle d upon which it runs preferabl on ball or, roller bearings, the ends of t e axle being supported in'straps 6 attached to the radius frameE. This frame is preferably trapezoidal in plan and its front or longer base is preferably mounted .on the power shaft E to swing thereon- The rear end of the frame E is also attached. to the sill A by a spring connection so that the wheel and -body may have a yielding movement with relation to each other, to allow for irregularities in the roadbed. The

*sprin connection which I prefer comprises a. par f springs F one located on each side. of the'radius frame E'and each connected at its front end thereto. The rear end of each spring is connected to a crossbar F lwhich in turn is connected by a spiral spring F with the sill A.- In. the form of my invention shown in the drawings the spring F is connected to the sill A by means of a bell crank lever flnounted on a cross-shaft f which swings in bearings f on the sill A. As shown, one end of the spring F 2 is connected to the horizontal arm of the lever f while the other arm of the bell crank lever is connected by the connecting rod 7 with the handle ft pivoted to one side of the sill and having a projection; fadapted 'to engage the rack f also mountedon the-side of the sill. By this. means the relation of the rear end of the sill and the axle d may be adjusted as "and for the purposes described. below. 1 The wheel D carries a sprocket d by which power is applied to it by a chain d running over the sprocket d? on the shaft E The shaft E carries a second sprocket E which is connected by a chain with the engine shaft. Any other convenient form of connection may be used. This method of suspending the body from the rear axle aside from having the advantage of keeping the wheel always in a proper alinement, has the further advantage that the'rear sprocket d is 'kept at a constant distance from'the driving'sprocket d and'the driving chain d isalways under the samezamount of tension. a

The 's'uspension'of the body {from the front wheel is somewhat similar to-"that from the .rear except that in the former case the positionv of the wheel may be shifted for the purpose of controlling .the machine. At-

each: end of the front axle 0 there is a fr'omthe inner wall of the housing B. To

-toa

give additional strength to the housing at this point I have provided a strengthening rib B which passes around inside the housing. To the lower ends of this rib the spring bracket 0 may be attached. In addition, the body is suspended from the axle of the front Wheel in such a manner as toallow the position of the wheel to be altered for purposes of controlling thevehicle. .For this purpose between each sleeve and the hub of the wheel there is a collar g carrying an arm' which is hinged by a knuckle bolt 9 fork 9' at one end of the arm 9 A nut g screwed onto the end of the axle clamps the sleeve and collar in place. The other end of the arm 9 is suitably forked and connected by a bolt 9 to the quadrantfi which pases aroundthefront of the wheel,

was

the whole forming a steering and support- The quadrant G is mounted upon the body by trunnions G, upon which the steering frame is allowed to swing, subject to the tension of the springs 0 'I prefer to steer the machine by means of a steering wheel like that usual on automobiles, and for that purpose have shoivn a shaft H suitably hung inside the housing as by straps or bearings h. The steering wheel is lettered H and is located at one end of the shaft H, the other end of said shaft carrying a bevel gear H In meshfwith the bevel gear H is a corresponding bevel gear J the axle of which is mounted in a bearing j which hangs from the rib B. steering arm J which is connected by a gimba-lor other like joint j with a connecting rod J the other end of which is connected by a ball-and-socket joint 7' with the arm J which is carried by one of thelwheel C for purposes of steering to the right or left as the case may be.

The wheel C, however, must be rocked or canted slightly as wellas turned, in order that equilibrium may easily be maintained; and accordingly the two pairs of pivots lettered g and 9, instead of being in a vertical position, are set at an angle of about 25 degrees to the vertical, for the same reason that the front fork bearing of a bicycle or ,ordinary motor cycle is set at an angle to the vertical, e., in order that a suitable amount of rock or cant may be imparted tothe wheel when it is turned' In fact, the motion described by the front wheel in my device is almost exactly the same as in a bicycle, albeit this result is attained in a different manner.

As a'convenience to support the machine when at rest and to allow it to be easily started after the user is seated without fall= ing sidewise, as well as to prevent skidding and to keep it vertical while it is being driven backward, I provide wheels K, each mounted like casters in bearings K in which they may turn on a vertical axis, these bearings being carried on the end of a spring rod K attached to a cross-shaft is mounted in bearings on the sill. A spring K connects each spring rod K with the top of the housing and tends to hold it out of touch with the ground. The spring rods K allow the drop wheels to yield to irregularities of the road. To the shaft k'is also: attached an arm is having at its outer end a pedal k by which the device may be operated. A rack k is located on the side of,

the sill and this arm k may be locked therein as described. When the machine is to be brought to rest the arm Is and rack 10 will be disengaged and the arm pushed forward against the force of the springs K until the To this gear J is attached a drop wheels run on the ground, when the arm can be locked in the rack k and on the stopping of the machine its forward end Wlll rest on these wheels K as well as the 1 front wheel C.

I have referred aboveto the desirability of ad usting the relation between the rear end of the body and the axle (Z by means of the lever f. The purpose of this is to adust.-the floor of the machine at an angle to the horizontal. Thus when driving with great rapidity the under surface of the floor may act .as a plane striking the air at a slight angle so'that the air will tend to lift the machine somewhat intothe air, thus taking some of the weight off of the wheels.

as v

The object ofmaking adjustable the angle to the horizontal is for purposes of altering the amount of thislift, which varies greatly with different speeds, and which it is desirable to increase or diminish at will.

I do not mean to limit'my invention to the exact form of construction shown, as my invention relates primarily to the suspension of the body from theaxles, the adjustability of the body thereon so that the lifting power of the air may be availed of, the mounting of the front wheel so that it may beturned forsteering purposes, and to the inclosed streamline form of the entire vehicle- 1 My invention is shown embodied in a twowheeled'vehicle; certain of its features may. be embodied equally well in'a; vehicle having more'th'an two wheels. Other means'than the drop wheel-may be adopted for maintaining equilibrium at slow speed or at rest. In using the term body I'do not 'mean to limit myself to asill carrying a 'floor and a' housing but to such a frame as will support the seat orseats and theengine, etc. Y

What I claim as my invention is 1. A motor vehicle comprising a body and wheels, each wheel having an axle, a frame connected to each" axle, said frame at one end being pivotally connected to said body and at the other end being yieldingly connected to said body.

2. A motor vehicle comprising a body and wheels having axles and means for suspending said body from said axles comprising two frames each pivotally connected at one end to said body to swing pivotally and each carrying an axle support.-

3. A motor vehicle comprising a body andwheels having axles and means for suspending said body from said axles comprising two frames each pivotally connected at one end to said body, eachcarryingan axle support, and spring connectlons between each frame and said body.

4. In a motor vehicle, a body and means to support said body comprising a front wheel and a trailer, and means connectlng each of said wheels and said body comprising a frame mounted to swing vertically 'with relation to said body, said frame carrying axle supports for its wheel and yielding means connecting the free end of said frame with said body.

5. In a motor vehicle, a body, a wheel mounted to support the front of said body and a trailer to support the rear of said body and means whereby the rear portion of the vehicle may be adjusted in height with relation to the axis of the rear wheel about the axis of the frontwheel as a fulcrum.

6. In a motor vehicle, a body, a wheel mounted to support the front end of said body and a trailer to support the rear end of said body, a frame pivoted to the body at ,oneend, said trailer being mounted in said frame, and means whereby the plane of the lower surface of the body may be adjusted to the horizontal comprising connections adapted to adjust the position of the free end of said frame with relation to said body and locking means to maintain said adjustment. v

7. In a motor vehicle comprising a body, afront wheel and a trailer and means for suspending said body from said front wheel comprising arms each carrying at one end a support for said wheel and hinged members connected to the other end of said arms and pivotally connected to said body, in comvbination with springs connecting said body with said wheel support.

8. In a motor vehicle comprising a body, afront wheel and a trailer and means for, suspending said body from said front wheel comprising arms each carrying at the end a support for said wheel and hinged members connected to said arms and pivotally connected to said body, in combination with a I steering wheel and connections between said steering wheel and said front wheel whereby the direction of-said front wheel may be changed with relation to said body and said vehicle may be steered. 9. In a motor vehicle comprislng a body,

a front wheel and a trailer, meansfor .sus-

pending said body from said front wheel comprising a flexible frame pivotally mounted on said body and means for changing the direction of said front wheel with relation to said body whereby said front wheel when turned to steer the vehicle will be adapted to cant as and for the purposes I described.

si e member hinged thereto, an axle, a wheel 130 mounted thereon and connections between said axle and said side members, said front member being longer than the distance apart of the connections between said side members and said axle, in combination with a body and pivotal connections between said body and said side members.

' 12. In a motor vehicle. a steering mecha- Y nism comprising, in combination, a flexible frame comprising a front member having at each end a side member hinged thereto, I

an axle, a wheel mounted thereon, and connections between said axle and said side members hinged to said side members, means for pivotally supporting said front member 15 PERCIVAL W. WHITE.

\Vitnesses:

GEORGE O. G. COALE, M. E. FLAHERTY. 

